It is the last film of celebrated French director Claude Chabrol, who died the following year, and the only time he worked with star Gérard Depardieu.

[1] Inspector Paul Bellamy (Depardieu) is a seasoned Parisian police detective on vacation with his wife Françoise (Marie Bunel) at her family home in Nîmes.

Their tranquil holiday is complicated when he cannot resist becoming involved in the case of a man, insurance broker Emile Leullet (Jacques Gamblin), who recently attempted to fake his own death in a car crash for his mistress (Vahina Giocante) and the insurance money.

Leullet, hiding under an assumed name and altered appearance and unsure what to do now, seeks out Bellamy for help.

(Bellamy is a celebrity and well known throughout France through his published memoirs, which reveal he has a "soft spot for murderers".)